Secures $118 Million to Advance Its Broad Pipeline of Autoimmune Disease Therapeutics
Summary
Existing investors Fairmount, Wellington Management, Tellus BioVentures, Quan Venture Fund, and Xencor, Inc. also participated in the financing, which included the infusion of new capital as well as the conversion of convertible notes issued to certain of the investors in advance of the closing of the Series B financing.Proceeds from the financing will support the clinical advancement of the companys lead product candidate Obexelimab, including a global Phase 3 registration trial in patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), which will be initiated in late 2022. We believe Zenas will successfully commercialize innovative therapies to improve the lives of those facing autoimmune and rare diseases, said James Boylan, Chief Executive Officer of Enavate Sciences.We are thrilled to have the support of Enavate and this top-tier group of global investors as we continue to advance our deep and balanced pipeline of clinical stage autoimmune therapeutics and execute our successful business development strategy, said Lonnie Moulder, Founder and Executive Chairman of Zenas BioPharma.In connection with the Series B financing, Enavate Sciences CEO Jim Boylan, Longitude Capital Co-founder and Managing Director Patrick Enright, and Vivo Capital Managing Partner Hongbo Lu have joined the Zenas Board of Directors.Zenas BioPharma is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of immune-based therapies for patients around the world. Our experienced leadership team and network of business partners drive operational excellence to deliver potentially transformative therapies to improve the lives of those facing autoimmune and rare diseases. For more information about Zenas BioPharma, please visit www.zenasbio.com and follow us on Twitter at @ZenasBioPharma and LinkedIn.Obexelimab is an investigational phase III-stage, novel bifunctional antibody with first-in-class potential that inhibits B-cell lineages that express CD19. Zenas acquired exclusive worldwide rights to obexelimab from Xencor, Inc.IgG4-RD is a chronic and serious, fibroinflammatory disease typically affecting multiple organs and sites (e.g., pancreas, liver, kidney, bile duct, salivary and lacrimal glands).